Emerald Coast Radiation Oncology Center LLC in Destin is one of a handful of Pensacola-area radiation oncology providers that have been ordered to pay $3.5 million jointly to settle a lawsuit with the federal government.
Dr. Gerald Lowery, who works at the center, and Dr. Rod Kentrel, who used to work there, were named as defendants in the lawsuit, which was filed under the False Claims Act and whose settlement was announced Friday by the U.S. Department of Justice.
The suit alleged that “between 2007 and 2011 the defendants billed radiation oncology services to Medicare, Medicaid and TRICARE that were not supervised by physicians, as the programs require,” a news release states.
Read a statement about the settlement. >>
The complaint said services at several oncology centers, including the one in Destin, were “often performed while the defendant doctors were on vacation or were working at another radiation oncology clinic.”
Sacred Heart Health System Inc. was named as a defendant in the lawsuit, along with West Florida Medical Center Clinic P.A. and Gulf Region Radiation Oncology Centers.
The defendants were “physicians and partners” in Gulf Region Radiation Oncology Centers, according to a news release from the group that noted “the settlement is not an admission of liability.”
“We have disputed the lawsuit for the past 17 months and we are pleased to settle the matter and avoid further protracted litigation and substantial legal costs,” the statement says.
The suit was filed after whistleblower Richard Koch came forward, the news release states.
Koch, who had worked at Gulf Coast Radiation Oncology Centers, will receive approximately $609,796 from the federal share of the settlement amount, the release states.
Both doctors agreed under the settlement to sign Integrity Agreements with the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services’ Office of Inspector General, the DOJ release states.
The release put out by the defendant groups noted that the lawsuit never questioned whether the care provided was anything but “safe, medically necessary and appropriate.”
Contact Daily News Staff Writer Tom McLaughlin at 850-315-4435 or tmclaughlin@nwfdailynews.com. Follow him on Twitter @TomMnwfdn.